Lesson 96 : [Sticker Shock]

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Intermediate Class 

[Sticker Shock]

New York City officials begin enforcing a new rule requiring restaurants to post calorie counts, and some New Yorkers find the news hard to digest.

This week may mark the end of diet denial for many New Yorkers. On Monday the city's health department began issuing citations to chain restaurants that haven't complied with a new law requiring them to post calorie counts on their menus. Officials are hoping that putting the hard numbers front and center will inspire healthier dining choices and slow a growing epidemic of obesity. Of course, most people already know that a cheeseburger isn't exactly weight-loss food, but prior to the new rule it was a lot easier not to face up to how many calories were in your favorite fast-food lunch. And not everyone is dedicated enough to hunt down the nutrition information on the corporate restaurant Web sites.

Now the calorie numbers are right there next to the price of each item, in the same size type. And some of those numbers are less than appetizing. For example, a large cookie (Triple Chocolate Chunk) at Starbucks can cost you 610 calories—that's more than the 540 calories in a Big Mac. Starbucks began posting calorie counts in their pastry cases weeks before the health department officials hit the streets to issue citations. In some stores the effect on customers was immediate. Many women were literally stepping back from the glass as they read the labels. "Oh man, I never would have guessed it was that much," said Saby Rodriquez of Brooklyn of the cookie calorie counts. "It definitely discourages me from buying." Indeed, the cookie and cheesecake calorie counts made a chocolate croissant look like chaste diet food, at a mere 261 calories. But even with the evidence of diet disaster right there in front of them, some of the men waiting in line didn't even see the calories on the food labels or weren't fazed if they did. "I noticed," said Peter Bless, "but it didn't register. And besides, it's Saturday. Who wants to count calories?" New York's restaurant association certainly hopes most people adopt Bless's attitude but says it plans to continue its challenge to the rule in court.

Meanwhile, gourmet diners may not be facing calorie counts on those pricey menus, but that doesn't mean the numbers are any less scary. A recent New York magazine analysis put a meal at Per Se, one of the best-reviewed restaurants in the city, at 2,416 calories—an entire day's allotment for a healthy adult. Of course, that was a nine-course extravaganza plus two glasses of wine and rolls, not just a fast-food sandwich, frothy coffee drink and pastry, which can land you about the same number of calories if you choose recklessly.

Should New York City's experiment with caloric deterrents help trim Big Apple waistlines, other cities may adopt similar laws. New York is a bit of a pioneer on the health front: it is also the only city to force restaurants to phase out their use of artery-clogging artificial trans fats. Only time, and the bathroom scale, will tell if these measures make citizens healthier or just take the fun out of Fun City.

Newsweek   May 8, 2008

***Vocabulary

l  citations

l  fazed

l  allotment

l  frothy

l  deterrents

***Discussion Questions

1. Do you usually pay attention to how many calories you consume each day?

2. If you do, does it help you to maintain desirable weight?

3. Do you think posting the calories at a restaurant menu is an effective way of helping people being fit?

Why or why not?

4. If this would happen in Korea, would you appreciate it?

5. We can see nutrient information about most of the products we buy at a grocery store. Therefore, it seems proper to know about calorie counts on the food we order at a restaurant. Along with calorie counts, the nutrient info about each menu choice would be even better. This would help people decide what to order and help them more aware about what they eat. Do we have a right to have this info available to us?

6. What do you think would be more effective (other than restaurants posting calorie counts) in reducing the number of obese people?

7. Have you tried being on a diet? Was it successful? What was effective for you to avoid high-calorie food?

8. Obesity is a growing problem in the developed world, and South Koreans seem to be quickly adopting a much higher calorie diet. Do you think the obesity epidemic will come here? 

9. Have you heard of the Calorie Restricted diet?

10. What do you think is a healthy diet? What diet works for you?

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